The invention relates to hair styling devices. More specifically, this invention relates to a hair styling devices that hold a selected section or sections of hair.
Hair styling often involves manipulating hair into a preferred orientation or style and securing the hair in that preferred orientation or style. This current invention is a device for securing a selected grouping or section or sections of hair in a preferred orientation.
A barrette typically has two sections that clasp together to hold a section of hair. The two section are elongated and attached at one end through a hinge. The other free ends of the barrette typically have elements of a clasp mechanism for securing the free ends together. Hair is placed between the two section and the free end are brought together and secured with the section of hair sandwiched between the two sections. In other barrettes, the two sections are configured to be detached and attached at both ends. Accordingly, hair is placed between the two sections and each end of one section is secured to an end of the other section with the hair sandwiched between the two sections.
The present invention is an device and method for securing a section or a bundle of hair in a preferred configuration. The device of the present invention has at least two body sections that are hingable attached to each other by at least two hinge sections. The first body section has a interior concave surface. Preferably, the first section is a bowed structure with an interior concave surface and an exterior convex surface. The second body portion is comprised of a flexible member that is attached to the first body section through the hinge sections in at least two positions. The flexible member preferentially bows out from, or inward toward, the interior concave surface of first body section. The device is configured to secure a section of hair between the at least two body sections without detaching the body sections from at the two attached positions.
Preferably, the first body section is an elongated semi-rigid bowed structure and the second body section is an elongated flexible strip spring attached by its ends to the semi-rigid structure, such that the strip spring member snaps between an open bowed position, away form the interior concave surface of the semi-rigid structure, and a closed position, toward the interior concave surface of the semi-rigid structure. Preferably, while moving between the open position and the closed position, the semi-rigid structure passes through a high energy elongated position and the strip-spring remains attached to the semi-rigid structure.
In operation hair is placed between the attached body sections while the first and the second body sections are bowed in opposite directions away from each other forming a opening through which the hair is received. After the hair is placed between the attached body sections, pressing on the first and second body section together causes the second body section to snap to the closed position and bow toward the interior convex surface of the first body section securing the hair between the two body sections.
Preferably the two body sections have substantially similar lengths and are attached to each other at their elongated ends by two hinge elements. The hinge elements are any hinge elements known art, including living hinge elements (i.e. preferred positions of structural inflection) screw hinge elements and pin hinge elements. Pin hinge elements are preferred, wherein, pins are inserted through complimentary overlapping end portions of the first and second body section.
The first and the second body sections are made of any suitable material such a polymeric plastics including nylon plastics and the like. It is preferred that the first body section is semi-rigid or rigid while the second body section is flexible, such that the second body portion is preferentially displaced when the two body sections are presses together.
According to an embodiment of the invention the first and/or the second body section has a gripping element attached to an interior surface to help hold hair between the body sections with the device in a closed portion. The gripping element is a rubber non-slip pad or a surface modification such as protruding teeth structures.
The body sections are decorate or colored to have any suitable appearance. For example, the first body section is covered with cloth, coated with paints, embossed with patterns, embedded decorative elements or coupled with other hair styling devices or any combination thereof. In further embodiments, several strip section are coupled to a larger semi-rigid body section transversely or longitudinally, such that several sections of hair can be secured by a single device, or a section of hair can be secured in more than one position.